I Did It!

It's been a long, hard road, but on Saturday, I completed my first 5K race.  I had reservations all the way up until the start gun fired.  Then, it was do or die, and I just did it.  I ran it with my mom, but she left me just a little bit after the start line.  Then, I was on my own, and it was up to me to motivate myself.  Seeing everyone around me did help, but I also noticed that most of those people were passing me.  Finally, I found a couple women going my pace and tried to stay with them.  It sounded like it was going to be a fun run because we were running through the Louisville Mega Cavern, and it was all lit up for Christmas, but it actually made the course much more difficult.  It involved a lot of hills and uneven ground.  I wanted to stop so many times, but I just made myself keep going.  I did have to walk a little bit on the steep hill coming out of the cave, but when I rounded the corner for the finish, I was amazed when I saw the time.  Mom was coming down the sidewalk to snap a picture, and she even admitted that she was surprised to see me so soon.  It was still well under 40 minutes, and I had been sure I would finish way over 40.  I just wanted to finish, so I started to sprint (probabaly a little sooner than I should have, truth be told).  I crossed the finish line and had a final time of 37:41.  For most runners, that's a terrible time, but for me, it seemed too good to be true.  I've been working for three months, and I've accomplished my goal.  Now, I'm running another in about two weeks, and it will be a pretty flat course, so I'm hoping for an even better time.  I can't wait to keep improving and keep getting healthier.